1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thrombectomy catheter device in general, and more particularly, to a thrombectomy catheter device having a self-sealing hemostasis valve.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In current interventional thrombotic material removal procedures using thrombosis removal catheter devices, a guidewire is loaded into the tip of a thrombectomy catheter device, through the exhaust tube, through a seal, and out the hemostasis nut where the guidewire was most likely previously positioned within a patient using common interventional means. The hemostasis valve is then manually tightened by way of a hemostasis nut, which normally compresses a silicone ring or seal until it “flattens” to close off the inner diameter of the seal, thereby effecting a seal around and about the guidewire shaft. This seal is activated to keep blood, saline solution, and other fluids carrying debris from leaking out of the device during operation, which fluids carrying debris are normally exhausted out of the device via an exhaust line and collected in an exhaust bag. The seal further keeps blood from leaking out of the patient while the device is not in operation, but still within the patient. During a thrombectomy procedure, it is desirable to move the catheter device over the guidewire without moving the guidewire, while maintaining hemostasis via common interventional practices. The current hemostasis valve on the manifold, although adequate, is not optimized. It is difficult to move the device without moving the guidewire due to the nature of a compressive seal. If movement is improved by loosening the hemostasis nut, then leakage becomes an issue. It is also time-consuming and problematic to have to always manually tighten a hemostasis nut to achieve hemostasis. For example, the physician must remember an extra step to obtain hemostasis, in which the hemostasis nut may be loosened instead of tightened. This loosening then sometimes leads to the hemostasis nut becoming detached from the manifold, which then leads to the inability to obtain hemostasis. The other main issue is “fine tuning” the tightness of the nut to obtain the proper device movement over the guidewire (i.e., no guidewire movement). This often leads to some amount of leakage.